Dr. Stokley

Dr. Stokley represents a synthesis of Stones Throw rapper and singer Dudley Perkins’ career, combining his relatively grounded early days as Declaime with the funk, soul, and afrocentric mysticism that he’s embraced in his later years.

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You would think that between his long-standing devotion to funk, soul and psychedelia and his love for all things green, Dudley Perkins would slide in perfectly with the portfolio of psychedelic-funk acts currently staging a renaissance in black music. But on his new album Dr. Stokley, Perkins isn't indulging in rap orthodoxy over funk-infused instrumentals (a specialty of the Odd Future camp and fellow third-eye devotees The Underachievers.) Nor is he interested in the kind of soft-funk odyssey that we saw with Snoop Dogg and Dam-Funk's recent 7 Days of Funk. The new album, Dr. Stokley, devoid as it is of both irony and traditional rapping, is an entirely separate thing.

Dr. Stokley represents a synthesis of Perkins’ career, combining his relatively grounded (and undercooked) early days as the rapper Declaime with the funk, soul, and afrocentric mysticism that he’s embraced in his later years. The styles combine into a kind of loose declaratory spoken word, a free associative style that often frustrates. Dudley makes many false claims of flow fluency on the album, boasting of a nonexistent rap superiority that can be grating. But when he embraces his stranger sensibilities, it can result in wonderfully left-field songs. "Geriatrics" is the best example here, a track that finds Dudley imagining the ideal life as a senior, rapping about being an “Old coot, sipping on prune juice in my best Sunday suit.” It’s the kind of song that you simply will not find anywhere else, and one of the few reasons to embrace Perkins’ notion of lyricism on its own terms.

That he can remain outside the box even when his influences are in vogue speaks to just how unique a figure Perkins is. His prominence comes thanks to the 2004 one-off “Flowers", an acid-drenched soul single delivered over primo production from fellow Oxnard, Ca. native Madlib (whose production is featured on the Stokley standout, "State of Emergency."). Perkins has refused to fade into the history of musical oddities; on the strength of prolificacy and consistently excellent production he has stayed marginally relevant, even as his contributions to his own music become less and less notable.

The real reason to tune into Dr. Stokley are the beats of Georgia Anne Muldrow, Perkins’ artistic soul mate and life partner and the true talent of the collaborative duo. Muldrow’s 2012 album Seeds, was badly slept on, a worthy cousin of Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah series*.* It’s clear that Muldrow has taken the lessons she gleaned working with Madlib on that album to new heights on Dr. Stokley. Her beats are high-fidelity, expertly produced instrumental hip-hop, with hard-edged production that’s occasionally softened when she sings quietly below Perkins’ sermons. On “Episode” drum snaps meet with the ghosts of soul samples and Muldrow’s own cooing—the beat makes the meat and potatoes gangster story of the track come alive.

Perkins and Muldrow have struggled with multiple setbacks in the past few years including financial issues, Perkins being deported from Canada in the midst of a tour, a home robbery and a long-standing beef with former label Stones Throw, which Perkins has long-insisted owes him money. Those doses of reality may have affected the cloud-dwelling duo in different ways. The grit of Muldrow’s latest crop of beats grounds her ethereal style nicely. But Perkins is better the stranger he is; when he lashes out at rivals or an unforgiving world he comes off as petty, rather than righteous. On “Rhythmic Procedures,” for instance, he blasts others for violence, hate and consumerism, without ever really delving into the meat of the problems he’s addressing. His complaints begin to loop back on one another, becoming obnoxiously repetitive.

Perkins and Muldrow are both releasing music through Mello Music Group now, an indie label whose flagship artist, the DC producer/rapper Oddisee helps classify their sound, as a kind of crunchy, east coast alternative to Stones Throw. The label’s investment in Perkins is worthwhile, if only to get at Muldrow. The instrumental album of Dr. Stokley might have stood as one of the better beat tapes of last year. But Dudley’s presence above the noise makes for a confused and ultimately less satisfying record.